Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are used in many different applications for converting continuous time analog signals into digital signals for processing in the digital domain, for example, using a microprocessor. As an example, data storage devices (e.g., disk drives) may employ a shock sensor for detecting disturbances that may adversely affect the normal operation of the storage device. The shock sensor may comprise, for example, a piezoelectric element that may generate an analog sensor signal representing the magnitude of a disturbance affecting the storage device. The analog sensor signal may be converted into a digital sensor signal using a suitable ADC, and the digital sensor signal may be processed to perform any suitable operation, such as unloading heads off of disk surfaces to prevent damage to the heads, or generating a servo control feed-forward compensation signal in order to compensate for the disturbance during access operations (write/read operations).